𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙂𝙤 - 𝙀. 𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣

[09] NIGHTMARES AND DATE NIGHT

Regina was panicking. She was back on the boat again; Waylon Forge lay in front of her. Dead. This time, the light didn't come from her phone, but a spotlight above, everything around them pitch black. She could see it clearly now: the bite marks. They were no animal's. Those were human teeth.

He tried to speak again, gripping Regina's wrist so strong it hurt. "Vampire," He said this time. Regina jerked back, jumping to her feet.

She was in the middle of a forest. No one around her but the eery dark trees that did anything but calm her now. There was a low hanging fog and Regina's feet were rooted to the ground.

She couldn't move.

A pale, faceless figure appeared in front of her. Regina's breathing sped up and she tried forcing her feet to move, to run. They didn't listen. The figure remained faceless as it stalked closer, but there was blood dripping from where the mouth would be. It came closer and closer, leaning down at her neck whilst she remained frozen in place.

All she could do was scream.

Regina had sat up shakily, and the shaking hadn't stopped since. She managed to hide it around her parents, but the privacy of the attic was nowhere near enough to muffle her waking up screaming bloody murder. They were worried, her whole family was. And they weren't the only one.

Jessica's eyes softened once she caught sight of Regina in the parking lot. Regina did a good job hiding the dark circles under her eyes with make-up, but Jessica knew her well enough to recognize that Regina was not doing as well as she led on. She was paler than usual and, as cliché as it sounded, she'd lost that spark in her eyes. She was simply going through the motions to give the impression she was okay. Jessica knew better.

"Another one?" She asked as Regina joined her side and they headed towards the main entrance. Jessica was the only one of her friends who knew about her nightmares. She knew every detail about it, something Regina hadn't fully shared with her parents. Whenever her parents had asked, she just told them she never remembered. But she had to tell someone, and Jessica was the obvious choice. Besides, it wasn't like Jessica was going to let her wave it off.

Regina gave a tired look, "Yeah, I don't think they're going away any time soon." Jessica looked at her with sympathy and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Regina leant her head against the brunette's shoulder as they kept walking. Jessica rubbed her arm reassuringly.

"They'll go away, sweetie. I promise. You just have to hang in there."

Regina lifted her head, "How long?" They'd reached her locker and she opened it to get her books. She lowered her voice, not wanting everyone in the hallway to hear, "I don't know if I can keep this up."

Jessica bit her lip for a moment as she exchanged her books and closed her locker with a sigh. She walked closer to Regina and made sure no one was close enough to hear before suggesting, "Maybe you should talk to someone..."

Regina raised an eyebrow, confused, "I'm talking to you, aren't I?"

"Yeah, I know, but I meant a professional. Someone who can really help you. I can support you and comfort you and I'll keep doing that, obviously, but maybe it's not a bad idea." Jessica saw the doubt in Regina's eyes and continued, "After my Dad died and we moved here, I talked to someone in Port Angeles. She really helped me figure out how to deal with it all, maybe she can help you. I mean, you did watch someone die, Gina. That's not nothing."

Regina's expression softened at the mention of Jessica's father, remembering that he'd died of cancer when Jessica was young. It had even made her and her mother move states because their old town just reminded them of him.